AMHERST — Hampshire College has received a $5 million matching gift from two alumni, making it the largest single donation since the college’s founding.
Donors Paula H. and James S. Crown, who were among the first classes of Hampshire students in 1971, committed to matching donations from alumni as part of a “Founders Challenge” focused on the college’s first five entering classes. Founded in 1970, Hampshire is celebrating its 50th anniversary year.
The gift will contribute to the college’s five-year, $60 million fundraising campaign launched in 2019. The college has raised $19,456,747 to date as part of the campaign, which Hampshire President Ed Wingenbach says puts the college on track to reach its goal by 2024. The campaign was launched to restore Hampshire’s financial health and enrollment after Hampshire, under different leadership at the time, experienced a financial crisis in 2019 that threatened its existence as an independent college.
The donation is “immense” on a financial and symbolic level, according to Wingenbach.
“To get a gift of this size at this time is a very clear validation of the solidity and sustainability of our plans for the future,” Wingenbach said. “People like Jim and Paula Crown don’t make multiyear, multimillion-dollar commitments to institutions that aren’t going to survive and thrive, so that’s … a signal of the heights of Hampshire College and the power of our vision for higher education.”
Additionally, large gifts “tend to inspire others to follow suit,” Wingenbach said.
“We are right on pace with our fundraising goals, and it’s really important to continue to excite and inspire people,” he added.
While the pandemic has added a further financial challenge for the college — and to colleges around the country — Wingenbach has maintained his confidence in Hampshire’s survival.
The donation is the ninth multimillion-dollar gift contributed to the college.
In a statement, the Crowns highlighted Hampshire’s education model, which they said “offers is an essential part of today’s higher education landscape.”
“Since its founding, Hampshire College has challenged passionate students to create their own paths, gather the resources they need to solve problems, and take risks,” they wrote.
The Crowns’ challenge focuses on the earliest Hampshire College alumni in recognition of the college’s 50th anniversary year, Wingenbach said, and the unique role that these alums played in shaping the college.
“The people who were here in those first five years tend to be deeply connected to Hampshire and consider themselves not just the students who first came to Hampshire, but the people who participated in building Hampshire,” Wingenbach said, adding that college officials hope to “rekindle” this feeling in current students as the school reshapes its curriculum focus over the next five years.
Jacquelyn Voghel can be reached at jvoghel@gazettenet.com.